Current students

MSc students

MSc Curriculum

In addition to conducting research and completing a thesis, MSc students are required to complete three 3-credit graduate-level courses. There are no required courses (unless indicated in the acceptance letter) and the exact combination of coursework is determined by the student and their supervisor. Graduate-level courses offered in other departments can also be taken for credit.

For students wishing to take courses outside of our department, you will need to obtain permission from your supervisor and send the supervisor's approval to theGraduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca (Graduate Program Coordinator) and include the Naguib.Mechawar [at] mcgill.ca (Graduate Program Director) in cc.

Timeline

Register each semester. Please see below for more details on registration

By the end of your first semester, you must have constituted an advisory committee (see below) and submitted your first Research Progress Tracking form (http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/research-tracking).This first progress tracking step is meant to ensure that the research objectives have been clearly outlined, and the form must only be signed by the student and supervisor. You must also complete and submit the advisory committee form. Both forms must be submitted in the same email to graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca, with Dr. Mechawar (naguib.mechawar [at] mcgill.ca) in cc.

By the end of your first year in the program, you must hold an advisory committee meeting and then submit a Research Progress Tracking form (http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/research-tracking) to graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca, with Dr. Mechawar (naguib.mechawar [at] mcgill.ca) in cc. Advisory committee meetings are mandatory, and must be held at the end of each year in the program.

Students should submit their progress reports according to the following timelines:

September admission: Objectives by December 23; Progress reports by August 31

January admission: Objectives by April 30, Progress reports by December 23

Advisory committee: This committee, selected together with the supervisor, will consist of the thesis supervisor and other professors who will advise the student about his/her research program. For MSc students, the committee will be composed of the supervisor and two other professors in the department. For PhD students, the committee will be constituted at the time of application to the program, and will be composed of the supervisor and four other professors, including one from another department.

Registration

MSc students should register for one thesis credit "course" per semester: PSYT- 691, followed by PSYT- 692 and PSYT- 693 to accumulate credits for your research project. DO NOT register more than once for the same course.

You must also register for the overall graduate program in the fall and winter terms by selecting REGN RCGR

Time limitation Policy

Candidates for Master's degrees must complete their degree within 3 years of initial registration. Please follow the link here for more detailed information regarding McGill's time limitation policy.

Thesis

PhD students

PhD Curriculum

In addition to a PhD dissertation, doctoral students are required to complete a comprehensive exam. There are no required courses, (unless indicated in the acceptance letter). An individualized coursework plan is determined by the student and their supervisor.

Timeline

Register each semester. Please see below for registration details

By the end of your first semester, you must have constituted an advisory committee (see below) and submitted your first Research Progress Tracking form (http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/research-tracking) to graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca, with Dr. Mechawar (naguib.mechawar [at] mcgill.ca) in cc. This first progress tracking step is meant to ensure that the research objectives have been clearly outlined, and the form must only be signed by the student and supervisor.

By the end of your first year in the program, you must hold an advisory committee meeting and then submit a Research Progress Tracking form (http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/research-tracking) to graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca, with Dr. Mechawar (naguib.mechawar [at] mcgill.ca) in cc. Advisory committee meetings are mandatory, and must be held at the end of each year in the program.

Students should submit their progress reports according to the following timelines:

September admission: Objectives by December 23; Progress reports by August 31

January admission: Objectives by April 30, Progress reports by December 23

Advisory committee: This committee, selected together with the supervisor, will consist of the thesis supervisor and other professors who will advise the student about his/her research program. For MSc students, the committee will be composed of the supervisor and two other professors in the department. For PhD students, the committee will be constituted at the time of application to the program, and will be composed of the supervisor and four other professors, including one from another department.

All PhD students must complete a comprehensive exam by the end of their second year. Please see below for more details.

Registration

All students must register for the overall graduate program in the fall and winter semesters by selecting REGN RCGR from the Faculty of Graduate Studies menu of courses on Minerva.

Time limitation Policy

Candidates for a doctoral degree must complete the degree by the end of PhD 7. Please click here for more detailed information regarding McGill's time limitation policy.

Comprehensive Exam

PhD students must complete their comprehensive exam by the end of the second year.

The student must submit a written thesis proposal at least 3 weeks prior to the proposed date of the examination

The examination, conducted in closed session, begins with a formal 30 min presentation by the student which reviews the background and the rationale for the proposed study, the specific hypotheses and objectives, the methodology, results obtained to date and future directions

The candidate will then be asked to respond to questions from the examining committee. The student will be queried on topics related to the proposed area of research. The goal of the examining committee is to determine that the candidate has sufficient understanding of the background information, rationale and methodological issues to perform and analyze their research topic.

The examining committee will be composed of the advisory committee (including at least one member external to the department) and the Graduate Program Director (or a delegate), who will act as Examination Chair, and ensure that the examination is conducted in an orderly and constructive manner.

At the end of the oral exam, the Examination Chair will ask the candidate to leave the room while the committee meets in closed session. The examining committee will deliberate and make a judgement of satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and results will be communicated to the student by the Chair. The supervisor may only act as a resource allowing the committee to make an informed decision; he/she will not cast a vote to determine whether the performance is satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

A judgement of satisfactory will result in a grade of PASS and allow the student to proceed with PhD studies. If the judgement is unsatisfactory, the student will be required to re-take the exam within 4 months. For a second exam, the examination team must contain an additional Committee member

Format of PhD Proposal

The written thesis proposal must state the hypothesis being tested, review the relevant background literature and summarize the methods that will be used to address the research question. The proposal should be approximately 20-25 pages in length, double-spaced (including references). A recommended format is:

Methods for each specific aim, including the rationale for the choice of methods when alternatives exist, possible problems that may be encountered and their solutions, analysis and interpretation of data, etc. (5 pages)

Summary of results to date (specific items may be included in methods, if preferable)

Short conclusion and statement of expected contributions to original knowledge (1 page)

September admission: Objectives December 23, Progress reports August 31

SKILLSETS : SKILLSETS provides interdisciplinary professional development offerings to all graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. There are over 250 free professional skills events and workshops throughout the year.

general, transitional and professional skill development opportunities

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Grad Supervision website: The newly updated Supervision website provides comprehensive evidence-based information about supervision best practices, policies, roles and responsibilities, and resources for both students and supervisors.

Admissions

Graduate Research Trainees
Apply for a short term research project with no courses at: www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/graduate-research-trainee. Send your university transcripts, a letter of permission from your home university and other required document to graduate.psychiatry [at] mcgill.ca or by mail to Graduate Program Coordinator. If sent by e-mail, please send the original letter of permission by post as well.

Double program students, including Psychiatry Residents
See http://www.mcgill.ca/students/records/forms and use the web forms in the section “For students in graduate programs” to accept the offer of admission and to register for the graduate degree program or part-time courses.